Mitotic kinases regulate MT-polymerizing/MT-bundling activity of DDA3.

Mitotic kinases orchestrate cell cycle processes by phosphorylation of cell cycle regulators. DDA3, a spindle-associated phosphor-protein, is a substrate of mitotic kinases that control chromosome movement and spindle microtubule (MT) dynamics. Through a mass spectrometry analysis, we identified phosphorylation sites on the endogenous mitotic DDA3, which include Ser22, Ser65, Ser70, and Ser223. Phosphorylation of these residues converts interphase form of DDA3 to mitotic form by changing its biochemical activity, as unphosphorylated DDA3 processed both the MT polymerizing and bundling activities, whereas phosphor-mimic mutants lost both activities, only retaining the MT-binding activity. We found that mitotic kinases, such as Cdk1, Aurora A, and Plk1, phosphorylate DDA3 in vitro. Whereas Cdk1 and Aurora A negatively regulate MT-polymerizing and MT-bundling activities, Plk1 does not affect these activities. Interestingly, the phosphorylation of DDA3 by Aurora A and Plk1 inhibits the phosphorylation by other kinases, indicating that sequential phosphorylation is important for the regulation of DDA3 function. We conclude that kinases control the function of DDA3 in the cell cycle by regulating its MT-polymerizing/bundling activities through sequential phosphorylation.